Go Up Higher

I come now to Luke 14. I think, now, as opposed to my topical beginning, I have become comfortable moving chapter to chapter and verse to verse. It is still my intention to set forward the definition upon which a subject must be judged. We must know what it is we believe – and why. At any rate, the first 24 verses of this chapter deal with a single scenario.

Jesus was invited to eat at the house of an unnamed Chief Pharisee on a Sabbath day. For well over half a chapter, Jesus talks to Pharisees and lawyers. Many people had been invited, and it seems they were there to 'observe'. In that regard, it is notable that no one argued with Jesus or seemed to be angered by his discourse.

Challenges were made which no one there was able to refute. They had no answer. Also, two separate parables were told. But first, let us get a feel for the topography of the situation. Let's map it out. What kind of deal was this meal? It sort of jumps out at me that Jesus spent a lot of time in the company of the Pharisees. If Jesus wasn't preaching in a Synagogue on a Sabbath, he quite likely could be found in the home of some Pharisee.

This Pharisee's house seems quite large as it has many rooms for many guests. For that matter, unless it was a big town, some of the guests would have had to be visiting from neighboring provinces. They would have had to be invited in advance. Jesus was going town to town on his way to Jerusalem. This could have been voiced ahead, giving these people ample opportunity to assemble. I get the sense that it was planned. Moreover, since Jesus addressed the man who invited him on the topic of throwing a feast, I must assume that is exactly what the Pharisee had done.

All of them wanted to observe the sensation that was Jesus. They wanted to hear him speak and get a sense of who he was. Here are some things to consider. Most of Jesus' contentions were with the Pharisees. In most of the occasions where we find Jesus invited to eat at someone's home, it is a Pharisee that invites him. Most of the times that Pharisees are offended by Jesus, it is due to Jesus not doing things the Pharisee way. One has to ask: who was more of a threat to the Pharisee order – some layman out in the boonies, or a rogue Pharisee?

I am not here to give a sermon. Although I have dealt with many of the parables already, I will leave these for the preachers. I am here to map out the floor tiles upon which we stand. In other words, the foundation upon which our beliefs stand.

I half expected one of the Pharisees to complain that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. I find it curious that, among so many prominent dignitaries, there was found among them someone of the less fortunate. Dropsy. Edema would be no easy thing to cure, especially in a moment as Jesus had done. The man would have been all puffy from the accumulation of fluids as a result of any number of physical ailments. It is as if they had it all planned – and that might well explain why Jesus seemed so perfunctory in his healing of the man. “He took him, and healed him, and let him go.”

Finally, I just want to touch briefly on the concepts of humility, exaltation, and worship. Self-exaltation is something none of us appreciate – when it is found in another. It smacks of pride, willfulness, conceit, vainglory, vanity, and narcissism – all the things we hate to be accused of. Humility, however, is something we pride ourselves on. I guess what I am trying to point out is a right spirit versus a wrong spirit, a right mind versus a wrong mind, or even a good attitude versus a bad attitude.

When one keeps one's nose to the proverbial grindstone, one does not end up with less nose. Humility goes hand in hand with persistence – that is, humility as a daily practice. A good habit. We might even look at humility as leaving yourself elbow room, or room for improvement. When you go up higher, it is because someone who matters thinks you matter. Those around you will be impressed.

Worship. Normally, we place this one out of reach. It is only something we do to God or Jesus. But according to Jesus, it is a common state – being impressed, having admiration for, or finding joy in the fortuitous turn. When a gambler puts all his money on a single bet and loses, he loses big. Have we given ourselves the elbow room we need to go up higher?

Stages

I did not fully cover the last set of verses, so I will include verse 30 in this study. Luke 13:30-35 puts several small points under the magnifying glass. There are points like a 'prophet in Jerusalem', 'being perfected', 'time', and the way reality is 'ordered'. I begin with the latter point in verse 30.

First last and last first – that's just how reality rolls. I write, here, in the broader sense. Of course, we recall the parable of the last workers being paid first, and we think in terms of how one might enter the kingdom – indeed, we think of our place among the many who have placed their hopes in Jesus.

First last and last first is what I like to call a USM, that is to say, a Universal Spiritual Mechanic. It is a law that regulates how things work. Here, I would like the reader to picture in his mind the working of a pendulum. Envision the full scope of the pendulum as encompassing all there is. It moves from the one extreme to the opposite extreme and back again.

Let us call the one extreme 'first' and the opposite extreme 'last'. When the pendulum reaches 'last' and begins its return to the other end, it begins with the last. It is in that broader USM context that the last may be the first. Other models which explain the same mechanic are the 'Lemniscate', or the infinity symbol, and the Yin Yang symbol.

Next in our study, Jesus received Pharisees who warned him of Herod's intent to kill him. Jesus already had an audience when the Pharisees came to him. He had been going town to town teaching, and as we know, Jesus always had a crowd around him. When he answered the Pharisees, it seems as though he was also still speaking for the benefit of the multitude that traveled with him. In my mind, I have to picture the Pharisees pressing into the crowd, having to work their way to the center to reach Jesus.

When Jesus says that he must walk today and tomorrow and the third, to be perfected, it sounds to me like an explanation of the concept of 'stages'. One works toward perfection in stages, doing more and more, getting better and better, going higher and higher, until the goal is reached. Higher is a stage of development, better is a one-up within an ongoing process, more is an increased result in a series of actions or steps.

Stages and goals may both be filed under being a prophet in Jerusalem. It is clear from his own words that Jesus viewed, accepted, or at least promoted himself as a prophet in Jerusalem. From his answer to the Pharisees, Jesus went on in an oratory fashion to speak exactly like a prophet. One has to ask, at what stage of spiritual development must a man be in order to speak as a prophet of God?

Jesus mentioned only three stages: today, tomorrow, and the third day. In the first two days, Jesus is walking, or working (as in cures). In the third day he is also working (as in the final stage of the process of perfection). We think of the three days in the belly of the earth. We think of his public ministry, his crucifixion/resurrection and ascension. We must assume that the very fact of Jesus saying there was a 'today' means that he placed himself, not at the end, not in the middle, but at the beginning.

Let us examine the nature of his prophet's oration. If any of you have read extensively in the old testament, you may note a correlation between how Jesus spoke and how the angels spoke. In both cases they spoke as if they were God himself. To any who are unfamiliar with the nature of angelic discourse, return to the old testament and read of the angel speaking to Moses from the burning bush. The fact that Jesus speaks to Jerusalem as if God is speaking should clue us in to the stage of Jesus' spiritual progress.

Finally, some thoughts on the word 'perfected'. What is the common view on the concept of perfection? Not everyone in this world considers that concept to be relevant, but among those that do, Christians seem confused on the point. The Christ they believe in and follow said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” That is a direct command. One must assume that would only be predicated on an established and verifiable truth – that man can indeed be perfect. Yet most contemporary Christians are fond of the addendum, 'I am not perfect'. They prefer the 'sinner saved by grace' stage of spiritual development.

Neither was it only the son of God who commanded us to be perfect. In Genesis 17:1 God himself told Abraham, “Walk before me, and be thou perfect.” In Leviticus 19:2 God himself told all of Israel, “Ye shall be Holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy.” It must be a consensus around the throne that the perfection of man is totally do-able. Mankind, however, including many Christians, seem not to believe the word of God. Rather, the common view of perfection is a mish-mash of super abilities with an absolutely negative amount of mistakes and ailments.

Therein lies the lament. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem – which is to say, O man! How can man be saved when he stubbornly clings to his own ways? When we take the truth of God and redefine it, what hope is there? We may not do God's way our way. That just doesn't work. Jesus knew what level he was playing on – some of us aren't even in the game. If I asked you, would you know? What stage of spiritual development are you at?

To Stand Without

Although I have written on this topic before, I have some thoughts to express here on Luke 13:22-30.

While Jesus was going from town to town in his advance upon Jerusalem, someone asked him, 'are there many saved?' Jesus responded that we should strive to enter the strait gate. This is not where he compares the narrow way that leads to life with the broad way that leads to destruction. That is found in Matthew 7:14.

Here, Jesus explained that the gate would be open just a short while, and his advice was that they should seize the opportunity. Indeed, there was a limited window of availability. Once the gate closed, there would be no further possibility of entry.

This is actually a warning to 'whosoever will.' If you want in, don't let the door close on you. It is also a statement that defines the type of people who will be forever 'locked out of' the kingdom of God. While it appears, from the text, that Jesus is speaking directly to the Jews, it is more a model of the type that believes he or she has a golden ticket to heaven – an irrevocable surety.

Jesus cites the Jewish mindset inasmuch as the Jewish mindset rested in the cultural and blood connection to the patriarchs. The model, then, is a person whose rests in something of this world rather a spiritual reality. By this I mean such solid connections as lineage, religious order, Synagogue/church/Mosque and the limited laws, practices, or traditions of such.

The Jew believes his fast track into the kingdom is found in Abraham, the law of Moses, the Synagogue. The Christian holds his to be Sunday worship and tithes. The Muslim thinks Mohamed's teachings will bring him to paradise. There is all sorts of hand waving involved – or sword waving as the case may be. But Jesus says there is a very narrow window of opportunity that will not always be open.

Jesus described himself as 'the way.' That is to say, he is the way into the kingdom of God. That is an avenue not all are inclined to travel. I like to say that the way is only open to those who are open to the way. A major downfall of the three faiths listed above is the underdog. Every one of those three religions has an underdog. Sometimes, they are called gentiles. Sometimes, they are called infidels. They are the Samaritans, the dogs, the other guy. They are always that poor red-headed stepchild that just doesn't meet the standard.

However, according to the son of God, the major religions, who assume they have a sure in, will find the door locked. They will knock in alarm and make such claims as their connections allow. You taught in our streets, we are the children of Abraham, we obeyed the laws of Moses, we went to church, we killed the infidel. They will see the kingdom of God filling, but not with them. Others will come from the east and west, from every nation and people – and it will always be the red-headed stepchild.

If the way is open to all ages and times from the slain lamb to the coming king, how can it be also closed? The answer, of course, is that it is only closed to those who are closed to the way. The way is Jesus. I'll say it again – the way is Jesus. Yet, I even must warn the Christian. To the Christian I say, the way, the only way, is Jesus. That does not mean that repeatedly saying his name is a golden ticket. The only way into the kingdom is to follow the path that Jesus took. You have to be a Jesus.

And you can't do that with the mind of the world.

The Spirit of Infirmity

Let's talk about miracles. It is a small account found in Luke 13:10-17 that describes the healing of a woman on a Sabbath and in a Synagogue. If this study dealt with the religious issues involved, I might write about the confrontation between Jesus and the leader of the Synagogue. I might highlight the shaming of Jesus' adversaries or the rejoicing of Jesus' followers.

This study has a narrow focus, however, as I wish to deal more precisely with the miracle itself. It will be my argument that whatever state the spirit is in the body will acquiesce to. Jesus had power over the spirits. When he delivered a person from an evil spirit, he often named them. If a possessed man could not talk, Jesus identified the spirit as he called it out: “Thou dumb and deaf spirit,” Mark 9:25.

In knowing this, we may better understand the spirit he dealt with on that Sabbath day with the afflicted woman. Here is what the verse says, Luke 13:11, “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.”

These are clues the seeker may use to understand the truth that links spirit and flesh. We may assume that if a spirit is dumb and deaf, the flesh is dumb and deaf. We may assume that if a spirit is bent, the body, likewise, is bent. If the flesh mirrors the condition of the spirit, we may view the description of the physical ailment as an accurate description of the spirit as well. How was the woman's body described? For eighteen years she was unable to lift herself up, that is to stand straight. She was described as being 'bowed together'. In a later verse, this condition is further described as being 'bound' – as in chained or shackled.

One interesting synonym for 'infirmity' – as it reflects upon a more nearly spiritual aspect – is the word 'indisposition,' which is defined thus: “Lack of enthusiasm or inclination; reluctance.” Synonyms of a more strictly physical bearing include, 'weakness,' 'illness,' 'frailty,' disease.'

The description of being 'bowed together' offers up an image of someone suffering from osteoporosis.

My argument, as I have said, is that the condition of the body mirrors the condition of the spirit. Some people, I realize, will have a difficult time making the mental connection between such physical ailments and 'spirits.' Indeed, these people have a difficult time with the concept, as simple as it is, of a spirit. I'll say it again – mentality and spirituality are one and the same.

What binds the mind binds the flesh. The miracle for that bent woman was that she could stand straight again. The miracle for those of us seeking truth is that we now see Jesus healing spirits rather than bodies. We see the son of God, who is one with his spiritual father, as having power and authority over anything and everything spiritual.